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Annual GCC inflation ranges between 1.06 percent and 3.8 percent in August 2014 |
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The annual inflation rates in the GCC region ranged between 1.06 percent and 3.8 percent by the end of August 2014, according to a report released recently by the Statistical Centre for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf (GCC-Stat). Qatar witnessed the highest rise in inflation among the six GCC member states, recording a 3.8 percent increase in prices by the end of August 2014 (compared to August 2013). Bahrain followed with 3.1 percent, then Saudi Arabia with 2.8 percent, Kuwait with 2.71 percent, the U.A.E. with 2.42 percent, and Oman with 1.06 percent. The GCC Stat inflation report notes that when compared to July 2014 on a month-by-month basis, inflation rates rose by 0.7 percent in Qatar, 0.4 percent in both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, 0.25 percent in Oman, 0.1 percent in Bahrain, and 0.08 percent in Kuwait. Highlighting the main groups in the GCC consumer price index (CPI) that registered the highest degrees of annual inflation, the report recorded an increase of 12.42 percent in tobacco prices in Kuwait, while prices for the recreation and culture category rose by 10.9 percent in Saudi Arabia. Qatar and Bahrain registered a rise of the housing and utility prices by 7.9 percent and 5.4 percent respectively. Meanwhile, prices of furniture and household goods in Oman went up by 7.24 percent, whereas miscellaneous goods and services in the United Arab Emirates increased by 5.09 percent. Food and beverages prices increased across the GCC by August 2014, where the annual inflation rates in this category increased by 2.5 percent in Saudi Arabia, 2.1 percent in Bahrain, 2.06 percent in the U.A.E., 1.82 percent in Kuwait, 1.51 percent in Oman, and 1.2 percent in Qatar. August inflation rates decreased for other recording categories when compared to the same month of last year. Communication costs in Kuwait decreased by 0.69 percent, while clothing and footwear prices in Oman and the United Arab Emirates fell by 1.19 percent and 0.28 percent respectively. Meanwhile, in Bahrain, prices of furniture and household goods decreased slightly by 0.1 percent. In contrast, neither Saudi Arabia nor Qatar registered any decrease in any of the recording categories through to August 2014. General indicators showed that the housing and utility prices increased the most among all GCC member states, registering a rise of 7.9% in Qatar, 5.4% in Bahrain, 4.39% in Kuwait, 3.1 percent in Saudi Arabia, 2.87 percent in the U.A.E., and 0.72 percent in Oman. |
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